Couples caught up in the crash of a wedding venue have been offered help by a Tyneside hotel.

The New Exchange Brasserie and Bar, based at the Saville Exchange in Howard Street, North Shields, has closed its doors to the public.

A notice was attached to the premises by North Tyneside Council alerting people the venue was to go into liquidation.

Now The Elephant on the Tyne Hotel, on Green Lane, in Gateshead, has said it will waive the deposit for anyone who was planning to wed at the New Exchange.

A hotel spokesman said: “We were so sorry to hear about The New Exchange going into liquidation.

“This is obviously a worrying time for anyone who was planning to have their wedding there. We are offering any bride that was booked up there the chance to move to us.

“We are prepared to waive the deposit and will try to help in any way we can to make sure their weddings go ahead.”

As highlighted in yesterday’s Chronicle, couples who were planning to marry at the site have been left shocked by the abrupt closure and fear they have lost their deposits.

Among them was Andi Brooke, 30, who was planning to wed his partner of five years Steven Watson, 27, at the New Exchange in September.

Mr Brooke, of Whitley Bay, said: “We paid a £200 deposit and we wanted the wedding party to see the venue. But their phone just went to voicemail.

“When I went in person, there was a sign outside saying it was going into liquidation. It was a big shock for us.

“We are now back to square one and having to re-print our invitations, which is an extra cost.

“When we contacted the liquidators, they said they had to look at the business’s accounts and assets, and we would only get our cash back if the firm had any money left.”

A spokesman for insolvency practitioners Findlay James said the director of the New Exchange had instructed them to assist in placing the business into liquidation.

And a North Tyneside Council spokesman said: “The business has been placed into the hands of liquidators but the council as landlord still awaits formal written confirmation of this. The leaseholder has closed the premises.”

In relation to ‘live’ bookings and deposits already paid, he added: “At this stage, the council cannot do anything to advise in this respect or regain legal possession of the property until notice is received from the liquidator of its intentions regarding the business.”